Altenew: A Year In Review Blog Hop + Giveaway

December 28, 2021January 8, 2022 Karen Brown48 Comments

Hello and welcome! You likely arrived from Juhi’s blog….don’t you just love her collection?

I am so excited to be participating in Altenew’s 2021 A Year in Review Blog Hop! I really enjoyed looking back through my projects and selecting some of my favorite creations. This first card was my most popular Altenew creation on Instagram and I still have it setting on a bookshelf in my studio. I love how bright, happy and cheerful the card is. I used The Tall Tales stamp and die set and you can read my original blog post HERE.

Altenew Tall Tales Bookcase Slimline Card in rainbow colors. — Tall Tales Stamp and Die Set

This mixed media card was by far my most popular blog post of 2021! I created my own color palette with gel press prints and die cut my blooms using Altenew’s Cosmos Craft-A-Flower. If I had to pick one favorite 2021 product it would be this Cosmos kit. You can read my original post HERE. I have another favorite card below that also uses this Cosmos kit.

Altenew Cosmos Craft A Flower card die cut from gel press prints. — Cosmos Craft A Flower Layering Die Kit

I love the Mega Alphabet Collection and I have several letters that I use frequently. This is a card I made for my friend Kathy. I used the ink smooshing technique and I really like how this project turned out. The Garden Trellis Cover Die is so versatile and I love the pop of white it provides on this card. You can read my original post HERE.

Altnew Mega Alphabet K ink smoosh card with Garden Trellis cover die background. — Mega Alphabet Collection & Garden Trellis Cover Die

I discovered the joy of gel press printing this year and I love how this project turned out. The Peruvian Lily Layering Dies create a big showy bloom that is absolutely beautiful! Altenew’s Essential Sentiment Strips Dies are also a favorite of mine. You can read my original blog post HERE.

Altenew Craft a Flower Peruvian Lily die cut from gel press prints. — Peruvian Lily Layering Die Set

Weekend Doodles may be my all time favorite Altenew stamp set! On this card, I combined the Weekend Doodles with Altenew Artist Markers (I used Water Garden Set G on this card) and Cross Stitch Cover Die for a crisp clean look. You can read my original post HERE.

Altenew Weekend Doodles card. — Weekend Doodles

As I said above, Altenew’s Cosmos Craft-A-Flower Layering Die Set is my favorite 2021 crafting product. On this card I watercolored panels for my die-cutting. This was my second most popular 2021 blog post and you can read it HERE.

Altenew Craft a Flower Cosmos card. — Cosmos Craft A Flower Layering Die Kit

I adore the The Doodle Blooms Stamp and Die Set! The stamps are whimsical and just make me happy. I again made gel press prints for all the elements of this card. You can read my original post HERE for all the details on how I created this project. I’d like to add that my favorite embellishment is Enamel Dots. I find they really add beautiful detail to projects and I always like to have a variety of colors on hand.

Altenew Doodle Blooms card die cut from gel press prints. — Doodle Blooms

Altenew’s Hibiscus Garden is the first layering die set that I ever bought and it is still a favorite! The potted hibiscus plants around my pool were the inspiration for this mixed media card created from gel press prints. You can read more about this project and a companion card HERE.

Altenew Garden Hibiscus card die cut from gel press prints. — HIbiscus Garden 3D Dies

I really like the simplicity of this card made with The Modern Squares Embossing Folder, white pigment ink and The Fancy Celebrate die. You can read the original post HERE.

Altenew Modern Squares Embossing Folder and Fancy Celebrate die. — Modern Squares Embossing Folder and Fancy Celebrate Die

Sometimes a mini stamp can have a big impact on a card and I think this Bee Kind stamp and die set is adorable and at a great price point. I added a simple watercolor background combined with a Garden Trellis die cut and three enamel dots. My Bee Kind blog post with additional companion card can be found HERE.

Altenew Bee Kind Mini Stamp + Garden Trellis Cover Die. — Bee Kind Mini Stamp Set and Garden Trellis Cover Die

Prizes:

Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 5 lucky winners and a $15 gift certificate to 4 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog HERE or share Altenew projects with #AltenewBest2021 on social media by 01/06/2022 for a chance to win. 9 winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 01/08/2022.

Additional Chance to Win:

WINNER: Marisela Delgado YOU are the winner of a $10 Altenew gift certificate! Please email winner@altenew.com by 01/18/2022 with the subject line Altenew 2021 Year In Review Blog Hop Winner from Karen Brown’s Blog.

I also have a $10 Gift Certificate to GIVEAWAY to the Altenew Online Store. I will choose a random winner from the commentors on this post and announce it here at my blog on 1/08/2022.

BLOG HOP:

Karen Brown You Are Here! 🙂

Next stop is Kari and her beautiful florals!

You made it to the end! I don’t have one favorite card but these are what I consider my “Best of 2021”. I’d love to hear which is your favorite card in the comments section. If you like what you see, consider following me on Instagram: @karens_mini and my blog (see the subscription bar at the top right corner of this post). Thank you for stopping by!

Wishing you health and happiness in 2022.

Karen

Cardmaking with Glitter Cardstock

December 10, 2021December 5, 2021 Karen Brown2 Comments

Cardmaking with Altenew Glitter Cardstock in Pink Brilliance + Cosmos Layering Dies.

Glitter and shine….sometimes it is fun to add a little sparkle to a card! Today I used some Glitter Cardstock to make an ultra girly card. I used glitter cardstock as the bottom layer on my blooms, flower centers and sentiment. I created this card to be part of Altenew’s Educator Instagram Hop and we’d love for you to “hop” along with us. You can start at @altenewllc and my IG hande is: karens_mini. Hope to see you!

My Process:

I started by creating my own color palette with watercolors. I took two full sheets of 9 x 12″ watercolor paper, taped them to hardboard panels and then applied watercolors (3 pinks, 2 yellows, 2 oranges and 4 greens) with Altenew’s 36 Pan Watercolor Set and an 18 Brush. I let the watercolor dry and then added a second layer for vibrant color. I let the panels dry overnight so they would die cut well.
The flowers and leaves are from one of my all time favorite die sets: Altenew Craft-A-Flower Cosmos Layering Dies.
The next morning I die cut the bottom floral layers from Altenew’s Pink Brilliance Glitter Cardstock. The bottom layer from the flower center was cut from Gilded Glitter Cardstock. The top two floral layers and greenery were die cut from the watercolor panels that dried overnight. I assembled the blooms with liquid glue.
For the background, I applied Embossing Paste over Altenew’s Narrow Brick Stencil and then let the panel dry.
The sentiment was die-cut from Altenew’s Essential Sentiment Strips.

I think the end result is a happy cheerful birthday card that I can’t wait to give my friend. Thank you for stopping by!

Karen

cardmaking · papercrafting

Amazing Paper Grace December 2021 Kit

December 1, 2021April 26, 2022 Karen Brown2 Comments

Hello friends! Today I have some brightly colored inspiration for Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace December 2021 Die Cutting Kit. You can also purchase just Enchanting Pocket Kit from Spellbinders.

The detail on these dies is just beautiful and I found the dies are so versatile! The three cards I made are all A2 sized, but the dies could easily make bigger cards too.

Spellbinders Amazing Paper Grace December 2021 Kit + Shimmer Powder

As many of you know, I love to create my own colored papers to use in my projects. On my first card, I created a panel by adding shimmer powders (I used Tonic Brand) to watercolor paper. The result was bold colors with a bit of subtle shimmer.

My Process:

I made three panels, one for each curlicue die cut plus smaller panels for the floral elements. One panel was shimmer powder on watercolor paper and the rest of the panels were watercolor on watercolor paper. For the watercolor, I applied the color, dried and then applied a second coat for a more saturated look. Prior to applying color, I did tape the watercolor paper to a hardboard to minimize warping.
For two cards, I die cut the curlique backdrop from the colored panels. For the third, I die cut it from white card stock and placed it over the aqua water-colored background. I like the card both ways! The backdrop was then adhered to the card with foam tape for lots of beautiful dimension.
Next, I die cut loads of flowers, leaves and greenery. I added a few extra die cuts from the Petite Floral Potpourri die set.
The sentiment is Sugar Coated Sentiments, which I heat embossed on black cardstock.
I used a wax tip embellishment wand and Bearly Glue to adhere white gems to the flower centers. I have tried a lot of liquid glues and found for small die-cuts that Bearly Glue is the best. The flowers were attached to the card with foam tape.